Bottle-retainer.



H. 3. mxsou. BOTTLE RETAINER. APPLIOATIOH FILED BEPT.14, 1911.

1,026,984, Patented May 21, 1912.

HARRY E. HIXSON, OF AKRON, BOTTLE-RETAINER.

Specification-o1 Letters Patent.

Application filed September 14, 1911. Serial No. 649,268.

Patented May 21,1912

To all whom it concem; i i

-. Be it known that I, HARRY E. HIXSON,

citizen of the United States, residing at Akron, in the county of Summit and State 'ofOhio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements -in Bottle-Retainers, of which the following is'a specification.

' 'This invention comprehends certain new and'useful improvements in bottle retainers retainer for milk or similar containing vesand relates particularly to a self-locking sels.

The main object of this invention is to; provide a bottle holder which will lock the bottle automatically in place when the bottle.

is inserted therein.

A further object is to provide a device of; this character the mechanism of which is simple, durable and efficient, and entirely protected from the elements thus insuring the proper operation and extended service of the device.

A still further object is to provide a bottle retainer having coacting bottle engaging jaws controlled within a casingby an automatiqally operating spring detent or latch which can be released only by an authorized person.

Further objects will appear in the following description, it being understood that various changes in form, proportion and minor details of construction may be resort ,ed 'to within the scope of the appended claims.

For a full understanding of the invention and the merits thereof, reference is to be had to the following description and the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the bottle retainer with'a bottle inserted therein; Fig. 2 is a horizontal, sectional view showing one end of the device with a bottle inserted, the other end bein in a position to receive a bottle; Fig. 3 sa vertical sectional view with the parts in the same relation as in Fig. 2; and Fig. 4 'is a transverse sectional view showing the detent or latch secured to the wall of the casing.

Corresponding and like partsare referred to in the following description and indicated in all the views of the accompanying drawings bythe same reference characters.

. This device is adapted to be usedin connection with bottles preferably having a flange near the mouth thereof, and embodies a casing 1, preferably openat the front ;and relnforced at the'lower edge by a transverse brace 2 whichv also .acts'as ran-anchorage for a partition 3 which divides the casinginto compartments A and B. A door 4 provided a with a locking device 5 which engages .a keeper 6 secured to the casing is adapted to inclose the 0 on side of the casing, said door abutting agamstthe' brace 2 when in a closed 1 position. l v

Forthe sakeof clearncss and brevity, the followlng descrlption refers tooneunit only of the device, the other unit being similarl constructed and operated. The .under si, e

of the casing 1 is partly inclcsed by opposed, coacting jaws or bottle-engaging plates -7 and 8, the former of which is rigidly secured a to the casing and is provided with a recess 9 which is substantially semi-circular from the points m to a but thereafter said recess widens outand approaches the edges of the jaw or plate as at 0. .Coacting with the jaw 7 and opposed thereto is the movable bottle engaging jaw 8 which is pivoted to the easing wall by' the pin 10 and is adapted-to swing inwardly. Said jaw is formed with an opening 11 which is so disposed that:

when th'e'jaws 7 and 8 are in engagement,

when they are substantially in the sanie place, the opening 11 registers with the .res cess 9 and the two together thus form a substantially circular opening 12 which is slightly greater than the neck of a bottle below the flange. The openipg 11 in thejaw 8 however, is large enough to permit themtrance of the neck of a milk bottle when the jaws 7 and 8 are not in engagement, being larger than the diameter of the bottle at the flange.

Within the casing and secured preferably to the partition 3 is a flat spring or detent 13 adapted to engage the jaw 8 on its upper face and lock it in engagement with the aw 7. In order to hold the jaw 8 in a partially' lowered position at which time it bears preferably coiled spring 14 encircllng pin 10 is secured at one end to the casing against the Hat vertical face of the detent-ha e and at the other end bears against the jaw 8 thus tending to depress said jaw and keep the jaw in such a position as to readily receive the neck of a bottle in the opening 11.

For the purpose of gaining access to the casing 1 so that the detent 13 may be operated to release the jaw 8, said casing is proloo ' vided with a lock controlled means of access,

in this case the door 4: having a lock 5 but the device is not necessarily limited to this method of construction.

From the foregoing description in connection with the accompanying drawings, the operation of the improved bottle retainer will be apparent. The movable jaw 8 normally is in a partially raised position and bears against the vertical face of the detent 13 being retained there by' the action of the coiled spring 14. A bottle 0 having a flange D about its mouth,-is pushed up past the fixed jaw 7 and against the movable jaw 8 which thereupon is raised until the flange of the bottle passes through the opening 11 in the jaw. The spring 14: then causes the jaw 8 to descend and aided by a downward pull on the bottle, the jaw 8 is forced past the detent 13 and rests upon the fixed jaw 7 so that the openings in the two jaws register and closely encircle the neck of the bottle which is now suspended by its flange D. As a downward pull is exerted on tliebottle the lower end of the detent 13 will automatically engage the upper face of the jaw 8 and securely hold the jaws in contact thus locking the bottle in place so that it cannot be removed until the lock 5 is operated and the door opened to permit the detent 13 to be released from engagement with the upper face of the movable jaw 8 thus allowing the jawto be raised up and the bottle'withdrawn. The jaw 8 now rests against the de-- tent 13 and in a position to receive another bottle.

The bottle retainer shown in the drawings is composed of two compartments, but the device is of eourse not limited to this construction as it might be made to accommodate a singld bottle or a plurality of bottles as desired.

In order to entirely dispense with the necessity of attention to the retainer when milk or other bottled goods are desired the door 1- or some other visible part of the retainer is provided with a pivoted dial 15 formed with. a slot 16. Secured. beucatl the dial and concentric therewith are annular-1y arranged quantitative characters which may be consecutively revealed through the slot it), upon the rotatiouot' the dial 1?). Thus the characters designating the number of bottles desired is exposed and after this ad- 'justment is made no t'urthcr attention is de manded until it is desired to remove the bottles from the retainer. T

It is of course to be understood that the bottle retainer is adapted to be attached to some support so as to leave the under side accessible. It is plain that it Will require no more time to place the milk or other bottles in retainers of this kind than would be demanded to place them carelessly where they would be subjected to theft'and exposed to dirt and other elements. Furthermore, the

placing of the simple mechanismflwithin a casing protects it from injury and insures the continued operation thereof. Themouth ot' the bottle is also protected by the incl'osing casing making it impossible for dirt,

water and foreign matter to gather around the-mouth of the bottle and thus come in contact with the contents thereof.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed is:

1. ,A bottle retainer comprising a casing having its bottom provided with a bottle receiving opening, said; openingha'ving diverglng side walls, a aw pivoted .WltlllIl the casing adjacent the bottom thereof and having adaptcd'to co-act'with the bottle receiving opening in the bottom of the casing, means at the pivotal support of the said jaw' to force the said jaw against the bot-v tom of the casing, and a detent within the casing arranged in the path of the free edge of the jaw whereby the said detent will normally support the jaw off the bottom of the casing and will project over the free edge of the jaw when the same has been drawn against the bottom of the casing by an'insorted bottle.

In testimony whereof I attix my signature in presoncr of two witnesses. HARRY l). IHXSON. [Ls] Witnesses: v

J. A. hll-IYJQHH, F. C. WiLsoNf 

